Salt Lake County Jail Alan Dale Covington.
A 50-year-old Utah man was arrested after he attacked a Mexican man and his father in a mechanic shop in Salt Lake City, police say.
Alan Dale Covington was yelling about his hatred for Mexicans and saying he wanted to kill a Mexican during the assault, according to police. Covington was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault along with weapon and drug charges, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Covington is not being charged with a hate crime because Utah state law only allows for a hate crime enhancement to be added to misdemeanor assault charges. Federal authorities could bring additional hate crime charges against Covington, but it is not clear if the case has been referred to the FBI or the U.S. Attorney’s office for further investigation.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Covington Is Accused of Shouting’I F*cking Hate Mexicans’ & Attacked the Father & Son, Hitting the Younger Lopez With a Pole After He Stepped in Front of His Father
Luis Gustavo Lopez was hospitalized after the attack.
Covington entered Lopez Tires, the mechanic shop the family owns in Salt Lake City, on November 27 and began to threaten 18-year-old man Luis Gustavo Lopez with a five-foot pole, police said. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Covington yelled, “I hate Mexicans. I f*cking ing hate Mexicans … I’m here to kill a Mexican.”
Lopez’s father, 51-year-old Jose Lopez, tried to protect his son, but his son stepped in front of him and was hit in the face with the pole, according to police. Jose Lopez was also hit in the arm and back, police said.
Covington ran away when another family came in to see what was happening, police said.
Luis Gustavo Lopez suffered a shattered cheekbone and eye socket, as well as a collapsed sinus, from the incident with Covington.
Veronica Lopez, Jose’s daughter, said to the Salt Lake Tribune, “They’re very shaken up. My family feels targeted.”
2. Police Say Covington Was Under the Influence of Drugs During the Incident
Salt Lake police are saying that Covington was under the influence of drugs at the time of the attack.
Salt Lake detective Greg Wilking also suggested that Covington might have some “mental health issues” that could have “clouded his judgment.”
Wilking said, “He wasn’t really based in reality. We don’t want to ignore a hate crime if it’s a hate crime, but we don’t want to make it a hate crime if there’s not that aspect of it.”
Covington has been in prison in the past, Wilking told KUTV, and he said he expressed fear of the Mexican Mafia gang. After his arrest he told police “that the Mexican Mafia had been after him since 2008,” the news station reports.
3. Prosecutors Say They Can’t Charge Covington With a Hate Crime Because of a ‘Shortcoming’ in the State Law
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Covington will not be charged with a hate crime.
“Although we want to pat ourselves on the back and say we have a hate crime statute, it’s really not enforceable,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told the newspaper. “It’s only applicable to the lower offenses and not the more serious. That’s a shortcoming.”
Gill told Buzzfeed News, “I as a state prosecutor cannot give them a measure of justice proportionate to the injury that they’re feeling and that truly is an injustice.” He added about the state hate crime law, “It basically leaves us without any kind of hate crime statutory framework. It’s a farce is what it is.”
According to The Tribune, no one has been convicted using the hate crime enhancement in the 20 years since it was made a law. The newspaper reports that the legislature has discussed hate crime bills over the years, but have not passed any.
4. Covington Was Charged With Aggravated Assault in Another Incident Earlier This Year
Covington was arrested and charged with aggravated assault in another incident earlier in 2018, KUTV reports.
According to court records obtained by the news station, Covington was charged in June after attacking his former fiancee, who he had been in a relationship with for at least three years. Police said Covington punched the victim in the face and brandished a handgun. The victim told police she hid from Covington. The attack was witnessed by a third party.
The outcome of that case was not immediately available.
5. The Lopez Family Blames the Trump Administration in Part for the Uptick in Racial Violence in Their Neighborhood<
The Lopez family has since said that they’ve seen a massive uptick in racial violence and racial slurs in their area. Veronica Lopez said, “You just hear more of it now,” according to The Tribune.
Veronica Lopez started a GoFundMe for her brother on Friday. The page has already raised over $32,000 in a day, surpassing the $20,000 goal.
The page reads, “On November 27 2018 my brother Luis G Lopez and Jose L Lopez were victims of a hate crime at my dads mechanic shop Lopez Tires. My dads business has been closed since. My dad got 8 stitches in his arm and has his back severely bruised due to the blows he received. My brothers right side of his face was shattered, he had a three hour surgery to place a titanium plate from the right side of his face to his nose to be able to attach the bones and keep his eyeball in place and a plate under that. We are asking for your help through this difficult time, being that my brother nor dad of any health insurance.”